Before it recently issued a “pretty please” to drug companies, asking them to voluntarily stop making billions of dollars off of unnecessary antibiotics sales to farmers, the Food and Drug Administration spent decades appearing to avoiding the topic. But a new report claims that the FDA actually spent 10 years internally reviewing the safety of dozens of antibiotics used in animal feed, drugs that the FDA’s own scientists said pose a high risk to human beings. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Would You Like Some Penis Jokes With Your Pizza?
By 1.27.14
When a restaurant introduces a new special, they want the name to be memorable. Brothers Pizza in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio have done a masterful job with one coupon that they call their “oddest and most popular offer.” That’s the “12 boners and 4-skins” deal, where customers get a dozen chicken wings and four potato skins for $10.99. What did you think it was referring to? [More]
Nutrition Facts Labels Getting First Makeover In Twenty Years… Eventually
By 1.24.14
Pick up any package of food at the grocery store, turn it around, and there it is: the ubiquitous, standardized nutrition label. It’s second nature at this point: we all know exactly what it looks like, and what we can expect to find listed on it. [More]
Burger King Singapore Strikes Gold, If By “Gold” You Mean “Cheese”
By 1.23.14
A new promotion at Burger King in Singapore compares cheese to gold. Here at Consumerist, we agree, because we really like cheese. The Striking Gold burger comes in chicken and beef varieties and features nacho, Swiss, and American cheeses, all on one burger. It’s like a United Nations of not-terribly-exciting cheeses. [More]
Tests Show High Level Of Possible Carcinogen In Pepsi One
By 1.23.14
As recently as last summer, Pepsi was called out (by the Center for Environmental Health) for continuing to use a controversial caramel coloring — one that can contain a possible carcinogen and is included under hazard label regulation in California — in spite of calls for an end to its use. New tests from our coworkers at Consumer Reports confirm that Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One all contain significant levels of the ingredient. [More]
Craigslist “Emergency” Taco Bell Delivery Request During Snowstorm Ends With A Full Stomach
By 1.22.14
When there is booze involved, there are many situations you may find yourself in that you normally would not get into. Say, there’s a certain cuisine you only crave when drinking. But what happens if a snowstorm foils your tipsy plans? Turn to the Internet, like one Baltimore Craigslister did yesterday in his quest for Taco Bell. [More]
Ex Trader Joe’s President To Sell Food Past Its Sell-By Date, But Don’t Call It ‘Expired’
By 1.22.14
For months, grocery business watchers have been waiting for the eventual opening of The Daily Table, a store created by former Trader Joe’s president Doug Rauch that will offer food items beyond their “sell by” dates. The problem, says Rauch, isn’t getting the food, it’s convincing consumers that it’s safe to eat. [More]
After Two Decades, Burger King Has Enough Of Little Old Ladies Using Parking Lot For Free
By 1.21.14
While the dispute between an NYC McDonald’s and some loitering elderly customers comes to an end, there is another feud brewing a few hours to the northeast. [More]
Pizza Hut Would Like You To Know That Real People Will Be Tossing Your Pie Dough
By 1.16.14
In what will surely be a blow to the brewing plans of our future robot overlords, Pizza Hut is touting its “new” hand-tossed pizza as the Next Big Thing In Eating Pizza. See? We don’t need your robotic tossing, machines. We humans aren’t perfect, and neither will that hand-tossed dough be, explains The Hut. Take that, armies of the artificially intelligent oppressors! [More]
Pepsi Decides To Discontinue “Natural” Gatorade Because, Come On, Really?
By 1.16.14
Back when I was growing up on my grandparents’ farm out on the prairie, whenever I was exhausted from a long day of playing professional sports I simply went to the Gatorade well and pulled up a bucketful of natural Gatorade. Nothing like it! Straight from the earth! That’s not true, but there was a “natural” line of Gatorade that PepsiCo has now decided just isn’t working. [More]
Just A Friendly Reminder That Some Wart Removers Can Catch Fire
By 1.16.14
You know those over-the-counter cryogenic wart removers for removing the unwanted clusters of tissue? The FDA says that since 2009, it knows of 14 incidents in which these products have caught fire, doing harm to people and or their property. [More]
Starbucks Admits That Its iPhone Mobile Payment App Stores Unencrypted Personal Info
By 1.16.14
UPDATE: Starbucks has announced it will release an updated, more secure version of its app. [More]
Medieval Sword-Fighting Session In Taco Bell Parking Lot Turns Into Drug Deal Gone Wrong
By 1.16.14
If I had a nickel for every time a medieval sword-fighting practice session in a Taco Bell parking lot turns into a drug deal gone wrong… well you know where I’m going with this. It’s a weird occurrence and in one recent Cleveland case, pretty embarrassing for the accused drug dealers in question. Sounds like they got taken by a bunch of teenagers, wielding swords, no less. [More]
FDA Warns Doctors, Pharmacists Against Prescribing High Doses Of Acetaminophen
By 1.15.14
Even though many people pop Tylenols or slug NyQuil without thinking about the consequences, too much acetaminophen can wreak havoc on one’s liver. Today, the Food and Drug Administration has asked health care professionals to please stop prescribing and dispensing dosages of medicine that contain more than 325 mg of acetaminophen, saying the risk to a patient’s liver is higher than any additional benefit of the drug. [More]
This Ad Almost Makes Me Want To Try A Burger King Lamb Burger
By 1.14.14
Lamb burgers are nothing revolutionary (and are often quite tasty) but they aren’t exactly something most people would think about rushing out to a fast food mega-chain to get. So how do you get consumers to associate a premium product with a bargain burger chain? For Burger King New Zealand, the answer is to wealthy-up the joint with a couple of super-rich gun-toting old gents. [More]
McDonald’s And Ferrero Offer Fancy McCafe Drinks And Cakes In Hong Kong
By 1.14.14
While we Americans are here drinking our McCafé caramel mochas and blueberry pomegranate smoothies like a bunch of suckers, over in Hong Kong, McDonald’s customers get to experience a magical pairing of two of my favorite food groups: caffeine and candy. And cake. There is also cake. [More]
Pizza Hut To Test Crazy Idea Of Selling Pizza By The Slice
By 1.14.14
Realizing that maybe there’s a limit to the appeal of cheese-injected crusts, Pizza Hut’s latest attempt at remaining relevant to consumers is something that many pizzerias have been doing since before most of us were born — selling pizza by the slice. [More]
There Is Now A Starbucks On A Moving Train
By 1.13.14
If you want to sell people stuff, you should go where they are and understand how they engage with your product. That seems pretty intuitive, but maybe it wasn’t for Starbucks as they first began to expand into a global brand. Yes, the coffee is pretty much the same everywhere you go, but people approach coffee and transportation differently around the world. [More]
